Running the Obstacle Course

In "Running the Obstacle Course," playwright and Silk Road Rising Founding Artistic Director Jamil Khoury addresses the thematic underpinnings of his new video play Obstacle Course.

Jamil's story explores reactions to a proposed Islamic community center on the site of a beloved landmark in a Chicago suburb. In examining NIMBYism (Not In My Backyard), religious pluralism, and the challenges of liberal democracy, the essay sheds light on the personal motivations and ethical questions that compelled Jamil to write Obstacle Course, and the strengths and limitations of our contemporary conversations about Muslimness and Americanness.